Page 111 of Left Behind

Wiley took a deep breath and crawled into bed. Now Ava was sandwiched between them. He reached over Ava’s head and put his hand on Linette’s shoulder. Love you, he mouthed.

Love you more, she mouthed back.

“What are we watching?” Wiley asked.

“A Bug’s Life,” Ava said.

“Is it good?” Wiley asked.

“Oh yes. So good, Bubba.”

“And why is this movie so good?” he asked.

“Because they know how to be little and hide, so people can’t see them—like me,” Ava said.

“I don’t want you to hide. I want everyone to see how pretty and how special you are,” Wiley said. He scooped her up in his arms and hugged her until she giggled, then dropped her back down between them. “We need popcorn. Can’t watch a movie without popcorn,” he said. “Be right back.”

Linette watched him lope out of the room with a longing to be lying in his arms.

“We’re a-havin’ popcorn, Linnie!” Ava cried.

Linette laughed. “We sure are. Bubba is the best.”

Ava scooted herself beneath Linette’s arms. “You’re my best, too,” she said, and then giggled again at the scene on the screen.

Linette gently ruffled Ava’s curls. “Thank you, sweetheart.” The scent of popcorn wafted down the hall.

A few minutes later, Wiley was back with a big bowl of popped corn. He sat it in Ava’s lap and then scooted in beside her.

Ava’s eyes widened. “I get to hold the bowl?”

“Yep, and you get the first bite, and then we’ll help you eat it,” Wiley said. She picked up one kernel and put it in her mouth. “Yum, Bubba!”

Wiley winked. “Okay, Linnie, my love, Ava says, ‘Yum.’ I guess that means it’s good enough to eat.”

All of a sudden, a little Pixar movie had turned into an event, and by the time the movie was running credits, Ava was asleep with her hand still in the popcorn.

“Poor baby,” Linette said. “I’ll get the popcorn. You carry her to bed.”

Wiley scooped her up into his arms and carried her across the hall. The bed was already turned down, and Pinky was on the pillow, waiting for her sleeping buddy. He tucked the doll in her arms, watched as Ava rolled over onto her side, and then covered her up.

He stood for a few moments, making sure she had settled, then leaned over and brushed a kiss across her forehead.

“Love you, baby,” he whispered, and was starting to leave the room when he heard a sleepy little voice mumbling behind him.

“Love you, Bubba.”

“Love you more,” he whispered, and walked across the hall.

The lights were out. The covers were turned back on their bed, and Linette was stretched out beneath them, wearing nothing but a smile.

Wiley closed and locked the door behind him and stripped out of his gym shorts as Linette turned out the lamp, leaving the room lit by the bathroom night-light and the fire between them.

He slid into bed beside her and pulled her close.

“No talking,” Linette said. “We’ve already said it all and it’s over. We don’t make love like it might be our last time together. We make love because we’re here.”

He said nothing as he slid over her. He was already hard, and she was so hot he could feel it, even before he slid inside her.

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